While waiting to take the mats before last year’s Ohio Tournament of Champions, the young
wrestlers wondered why grown-up Brian Virost was with them.

The holding area was restricted:
No parents or coaches allowed.

But Virost was one of them — a competitor.

“They were all laughing,” he said.

An accountant, Virost, 34, hopes to claim the heavyweight-class title in the open division
during Saturday’s tournament at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. He came in third in
2013.

“I’ve got something to prove this year,” said the Westerville resident, who qualified for the
1998 state meet for Perrysburg High School near Toledo. “I want to win that belt.”

Five years ago, Bart Freidenberg decided to add an open division — for men who have graduated
high school — to the youth tournament.

“Some of the older guys, people who had competed in the tournament before, inquired about it,”
said Freidenberg, founder of the 22-year-old event. “They said, ‘Hey, we still want to wrestle.’ "

The field for the open division has tripled in size since 2009.

As many as 150 adult wrestlers will be among the roughly 3,000 competitors expected at the
largest one-day youth wrestling tournament in the country. Although some open-division wrestlers
are fresh out of high school, others are in their late 20s and 30s.

“Guys use it as a kind of wrestling reunion,” Freidenberg said.

Tommie Goff, 40, will be a competitor and a parent this weekend; the Steubenville, Ohio,
resident will compete in the open division, then cheer on his 16-year-old son.

“He’s going to be my coach in my corner, and then I’ll be his coach in his corner,” Goff
said.

After losing 70 pounds during the past year, Goff said he is prepared.

Dakotah Goff practices often with his dad, an assistant wrestling coach at Steubenville High
School, where Dakotah is a student. But he is looking forward to seeing his dad in action.

“He’s always talking about his great cradle and how he took out so many kids (while he was in
high school) with it,” Dakotah said. “I think this is good for him.”

Chad Meyer persuaded his friend Virost to enter the tournament with him last year after they
watched the NCAA wrestling championships together and reminisced about their wrestling days.

A wrestling coach at Genoa Middle School, Meyer knew about the Tournament of Champions.

“I had not wrestled since high school,” said Meyer, who attended Big Walnut. “I felt really old,
but it was a lot of fun. That’s why we decided to go again.”

To prepare, the 38-year-old Westerville contractor, who will wrestle in the 190-pound class, and
Virost practiced at Genoa. It felt good to be back on the mat, they said, even though they’re a bit
slower.

“You’re just trying not to get killed,” Virost said, “to not embarrass yourself.”